Why Tennessee is fining Black women $100,000 for braiding hair

In fairness (the headline is not ours) Tennessee is fining everyone for the unlicensed professional braiding of hair. But you get the point.

Occupational licensing keeps people from creating a better life for themselves and their family. One should not have to ask permission from the government, indeed PAY the government, to make a living.

(From AOL.com)

Lawmakers in Tennessee are making it difficult for Black salon professionals to make money braiding hair by slapping harsh fines on their businesses if they hire unlicensed braiders, according to Forbes.

That’s a problem for braiders like Fatou Diouf, a small braiding business owner who is suffering because of a stifling $16,000 in fines she’s been ordered to pay.

One of her braiders reportedly did not have a government license to braid hair in her shop and that runs afoul of the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners policy. As a result, Diouf the fine was levied against her as a disciplinary action…